David Kwaku Asamoah Gyasi (; born 2 January 1980) is a British actor. His films include ''

Cloud Atlas A cloud atlas is a pictorial key (or an atlas) to the nomenclature of clouds. Early cloud atlases were an important element in the training of meteorologists and in weather forecasting, and the author of a 1923 atlas stated that "increasing use ...

'' (2012) and '' Interstellar'' (2014). On television, he is known for his roles in the BBC series '' White Heat'' (2012) and '' Troy: Fall of a City'' (2018),

the CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

miniseries ''

Containment Containment was a Geopolitics, geopolitical strategic foreign policy pursued by the United States during the Cold War to prevent the spread of communism after the end of World War II. The name was loosely related to the term ''Cordon sanitaire ...

'' (2016), the

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

series ''

Carnival Row ''Carnival Row'' is an American fantasy television series created by René Echevarria and Travis Beacham, based on Beacham's unproduced film spec script, ''A Killing on Carnival Row''. The series stars Orlando Bloom, Cara Delevingne, Simon M ...

'' (2019–2023), and the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

political thriller '' The Diplomat'' (2023).

Early life

Gyasi was born 2 January 1980 in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, London, one of seven children to Ashanti

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

parents who had arrived in England in 1966. They divorced when he was young. Gyasi grew up in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

and Hayes. He attended

Bishopshalt School Bishopshalt School is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status based in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It has specialisations in music and the performing arts. Between 2013 and 2014, the school was used for scenes in the BBC si ...

and completed his

A Levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

at East Berkshire College. He went on to study Drama at

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

Career

Gyasi landed his first main television role as Jeremy Hands in the 2005 ITV comedy '' Mike Bassett: Manager'', a follow-up to '' Mike Bassett: England Manager'' (2001), and his first major film role that same year in

Michael Caton-Jones Michael Caton-Jones (born Michael Jones; 15 October 1957) is a Scottish director and producer of film and television. Biography Caton-Jones grew up in Broxburn, near Edinburgh. He moved to London and squatted in Stoke Newington. He attend ...

' '' Shooting Dogs''. Gyasi appeared alongside

Kit Harington Christopher Catesby Harington (born 26 December 1986), known professionally as Kit Harington, is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Jon Snow (character), Jon Snow in the HBO fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011� ...

in the 2008 National Theatre production of ''

War Horse The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot design ...

''. In 2012, Gyasi starred in the science fiction film ''

'' as a

Moriori The Moriori are the first settlers of the Chatham Islands ( in Moriori language, Moriori; in Māori language, Māori). Moriori are Polynesians who came from the New Zealand mainland around 1500 AD, which was close to the time of the ...

slave called Autua; his inaccurate casting caused controversy for perpetuating false stereotypes about Moriori people. He then played young Victor (played by

Hugh Quarshie Hugh Anthony Quarshie (born 22 December 1954) is a Ghanaian-born British actor. He is known for his long-running role as Ric Griffin on the BBC One medical drama ''Holby City'' (2001–20), and for playing Captain Panaka in the ''Star Wars'' ...

later in the character's life) in the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

historical drama '' White Heat''. This was followed by roles in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

television film '' The Whale'' (2013) and

Christopher Nolan Sir Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British and American filmmaker. Known for his Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters with complex storytelling, he is considered a leading filmma ...

's '' Interstellar'' (2014), the latter of which earned him a

Black Reel Award The Black Reel Awards, or BRAs, is an annual American awards ceremony hosted by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African Americans in film (FAAAF) to recognize excellence of African Americans, as well as the cinematic achievements of the Afr ...

nomination for Best Breakthrough Performance. Gyasi was cast as the lead of ''

The Interceptor ''The Interceptor'' is a British drama television serial that was first broadcast on BBC One from 10 June until 29 July 2015. The eight-part series was written by Tony Saint and made by BBC Television, BBC Drama Productions. The series was canc ...

'', also on BBC One, but had to drop out due to a heel injury. The role was taken over by O. T. Fagbenle. Gyasi starred as Major Alex "Lex" Carnahan in 2016

miniseries ''

''. He went on to portray

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

in the 2018 BBC and

adaptation of ''

The Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'', titled '' Troy: Fall of a City''. From 2019 to 2023, he starred as Agreus in the

fantasy series ''

''. He also led the Western film '' Hell on the Border'' and appeared in '' Cold Blood'', '' Maleficent: Mistress of Evil'', and '' Come Away''. He had a recurring role as Ben Chambers in series 3 of '' The A Word''.

Personal life

Gyasi began dating his wife Emma (née Llaudes) during sixth form at East Berkshire College. They had their first child, a daughter Elèna, who is now an actress. The couple married that year and later had their second child, a son Nathaniel. The family settled in a Buckinghamshire village. Gyasi is a practising Anglican.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gyasi, David Living people 1980 births 21st-century English male actors Alumni of Middlesex University Black British male actors British Anglicans English male film actors English people of Ashanti descent English people of Ghanaian descent English male television actors Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Male actors from London People from Hammersmith Actors from the London Borough of Hillingdon People from Fulham People from Hayes, Hillingdon